Potlucks, Playdates & Posts

At this very moment, I’m sitting on the subway from Manhattan to Brooklyn holding a very large quantity of ready to eat, fully-cooked Brussels sprouts. That’s it. They are quite literally the sole item I have on my person. Fourteen portions to be exact. I’ve gotta be the first person to have ever brought JUST Brussels sprouts on the the subway. Don’t get me wrong. I’m well aware of the comeback that Brussels sprouts have made over the past few years. They’re red hot, climbing the power rankings of the appetizers. Throw a little balsamic glaze & some bacon bits in there & suddenly they rule. We’ve completely re-invented them as a society (Also, I guess a dutch bro genetically altered them in the ‘90s?). With all that being said, the subway smells like shit already... You’re not making any friends by adding the stench of B sprouts into the mix.

By the way… If you get assigned the B sprouts for the Friendsgiving potluck, just know your friend hosting doesn’t respect you as a capable human being whatsoever. Like, that is the lowest tier, absolute bottom of the barrel responsibility. It’s basically like asking someone to bring “a good attitude” or chips. Good thing I’ve got a prospering weekly email newsletter to fall back on! Welcome back to Trust Fun everyone… WEEK 6. Let’s get into it.

All this talk of not making friends on the subway & Friendsgiving (which is a stupid made up holiday) is a good segue into the topic I want to breakdown this week… How playdates are a lot like networking. Here me out.

Playdates

A lot of you are not fans of networking. Sure, it provides value from a career perspective & you gotta do it. But also, it’s super cringe. I get it. Remember when you were a kid & the only thing that mattered was getting invited to playdates & sleepovers? You’d shamelessly leverage every asset you had to present yourself as a worthy candidate: Gameboys, baseball card collections, razor scooters, Lego Star Wars sets, etc. For the best invites, aka the elite playdates, you NEEDED to provide serious value & bring something meaningful to the table. A lot of these kids already had it all. Every toy, junk food & video game under the sun. You needed to differentiate yourself. Why were you (a 3rd grader) an absolute vital & integral attendee to take this playdate to the next level? And how would you then leverage that playdate into getting invited to the crown jewel: a sleepover.

Successful networking is not too different from getting invited playdates & sleepovers. Especially in this bear market, where companies (the cool kids) are now in the drivers seat, our resumes & skillsets (or toys) are more critical than ever. In this slightly strange, albeit effective analogy, let’s think of playdates as informal interviews & sleepovers as formal interviews.

First, to do this whole networking thing effectively & truly get some killer invites, you need to know yourself. Discover your value props, your strengths, your passions, and whatever. You can’t present the best version of yourself without clearly knowing who the heck you are. Where have you succeeded? Where have you failed? What do you like? Who do you like? What do you find fun? What do you find lame?

Example 1: If you hate sitting at a desk all day, don’t talk to people who are interviewing for desk jobs. You’re not doing yourself any favors cuz you’ll hate that job. And you’re not doing that company any favors cuz you’ll suck at that job.

Example 2: If you hate video games & drinking soda, don’t try and get invited to a sleepover where they’re going to be playing video games & drinking soda all night. You’ll all be bored & probably get a stomach ache.

👆This sounds awesome by the way. Sign me up.

The key here is to look for people who could benefit from the authentic YOU.

Discovering exactly what you’re looking for & who you are as a member of the workforce is insanely difficult. Probably the hardest part of this whole process. I don’t want to gloss over it, but it’s not something I can really give too intricate advice on. It takes self discovery, honest feedback from friends & family, & a hard look in the mirror. Write out the perfect situation for YOU, and then work backwards. Try and find a job that fits that mold as best as possible.

Me for example, I wanted to be a newsletter writer who works 1 day a week giving unsolicited & unwarranted advice. Dreams really do come true!

*Editors note: I am STILL not getting paid for this. Let me know if you want to sponsor 🙂 

So hmmm.. Where are we aloud to be 100% authentically ourselves?

Post, Post, Post

In the current social media driven world, it’s never been easier to get noticed… While in that same vain, it’s also never been easier to apply for a job with the click of a button while simultaneously hiding behind a screen. Getting picked out from a sea of flooded, humanless job applications after 400+ people “EasyApplied” on LinkedIn is near impossible. I honestly believe you’ve got a better chance at hitting a 15 leg parlay than actually getting an interview for some of these jobs I’m seeing online.

Even though it probably is ever so slightly cringe, I encourage you to post & share about your differentiators (or toys). We all have unlimited access to a platform where the reach is uncapped, impressions cost nothing, and quite literally the person who could be deciding the fate of our careers is actively perusing.

Like anything else, it’s a numbers game & it is sales. Discover what it is you have that is different, valuable & unique. Provide engaging thoughts & ideas. Spark conversation. Engage with others.

If playdates are informal interviews & sleepovers are formal interviews, then LinkedIn is recess. Those 15 to 20 minutes a day where the rules & needing to be quiet is no longer. Where we go outside, be loud, be creative & take risks. Be authentically yourself. Sure you may scrape up your knee a bit, but you’ll be just fine in the end & hopefully meet some of your best friends / future co-workers.

Thanks for reading. Hope this resonates. See you next week 🤝